America is Exceptional

(Even Though Most Americans Aren’t)

America is an idea wrapped in a paradox. It is the land of boundless opportunity, yet home to millions who refuse to seize it. It is the birthplace of individual liberty, yet shackled by the weight of its own myths. It is a nation that has built, innovated, and conquered like no other, yet largely composed of people who couldn’t change a tire if their lives depended on it.

And yet—despite all this—America is, without question, exceptional.

Now, let’s not confuse exceptional with perfect or even mostly competent. America’s exceptionalism has never depended on the competence, intelligence, or even the basic moral decency of its people. If it did, we’d have collapsed in on ourselves decades ago. No, what makes America exceptional is its sheer force of momentum, its relentless ability to innovate, adapt, and reinvent itself—even while a staggering number of its citizens scroll TikTok with the attention span of goldfish in a blender.

1. America Invented the Future and Then Forgot Where It Put It